It was fitting that upon their annual visit to the United Kingdom, the Jaguars once again did their Jekyll and Hyde routine in their 44-7 demolition of the Baltimore Ravens.
Blake Bortles turned into Tom Brady as he burned the Ravens for 244 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Jags’ talented defense absolutely shut down the Ravens’ attack, limiting them to 186 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers.
So exactly which Jaguars team is the real deal? Is it the one that completely dominated good defenses in the Texans and Ravens, or the one that got trounced by the Titans in Week 2? Maybe they’re somewhere in the middle, but even that could be good enough to beat a bad Jets team.
Bortles is unlikely to play quite as well again, but the defense has proven it can replicate top-caliber performances, especially against somewhat limited offenses. There’s hardly a more limited offense in the league at the moment than the Jets, so look for the Jags to have another potentially dominant game on that side of the ball.
So much for 0-16. It took the Jets just three weeks to get their first win of the season as they dominated the Miami Dolphins en route to a 20-6 home win.
The offense was just as good as it needed to be. Josh McCown went 18-of-23 for 249 yards, but more importantly, didn’t throw an interception. He did fumble the ball twice, although he luckily managed to recover both times.
It was the defense that was the biggest factor in delivering the win, though. They held the Dolphins scoreless through three quarters, forced two turnovers, and limited Miami to a single third-down in 13 attempts.
The key to that defense’s success was stopping the Dolphins on the ground. They limited Miami to a mere 30 rushing yards on 15 carries, with Jay Ajayi picking up just 16 yards on 11 carries.
That run defense will continue to be crucial against Jacksonville. If they can limit Leonard Fournette and co. and force the Jags to put the ball in Blake Bortles’ hands, the Jets should like their chances of creating some extra possessions and at least keeping things close against Jacksonville.
Writer’s Prediction
The Jags (-175) continue to impress as they get the job done against the Jets on the road.
